E-commerce sales are experiencing rapid growth in recent years, and the annual revenue is predicted to reach $6.5 trillion by 2023. As the number of internet users increases, the percentage of people shopping on eCommerce is also increasing.

Around 26% (in 2020) of the world population shops online. Several players contribute to the e-commerce market, and regular shoppers know how to grab the best deals. As there are multiple buying options, eCommerce businesses should use innovative promotional strategies.


ECommerce Sale Will Reach 6.5 Trillion by 2023 Source: Drip

It requires market research and basic knowledge about the customer base to achieve the best results using promotional strategies. ECommerce businesses use attractive product images or videos that impact customers’ decisions. However, you can formulate effective eCommerce business strategies to experience a growth in conversion rate and retention rate. The advertisements and campaigns are tools that will allow you to reach more people who can visit your website.

However, there should be a little more effort to convince the visitor to shop your products. Offers and discounts on items can encourage your customers to visit your website only “to have a look.”

Reasons Behind Ecommerce Business Using Promotional Strategies

#1 FOMO

FOMO, or the Fear Of Missing Out, is a primary reason, and promotional strategies can be highly effective. A time-limited sale on new products, limited period stocks, off-season items, and low-performing products can tempt the customer to buy the items immediately without waiting. Almost 34% of online buyers compare the price of a particular product on online sites and physical stores and then pick the suitable ones. Therefore, discounts and offers can work effectively to attract more customers.

#2 Emerging Economies having eCommerce-Friendly Policies.

Today, policies are friendly for eCommerce businesses in most emerging economies. Hence, the market is highly competitive. For example, Indian policy supports 100% FDI in B2B eCommerce, which has increased the competition in the market. To survive the competitive market, it is a must for e-commerce businesses to look for innovative promotional strategies.

Ads and campaigns may bring new visitors to your website, but that does not ensure sales.

E-commerce businesses require effective promotional strategies to convert potential customers into active buyers and retain them.

India’s Current ECommerce Market Source:Oberlo

Most online buyers look for the best deal, discounts, and offers while purchasing an item. They often compare the product price on multiple e-commerce sites to get the best offer.

Thus, the business requires some tempting offers to persuade the customer to make their purchase. However, it is also significant to increase the rate of returning customers with loyalty programs and other similar promotional strategies.

Before formulating promotional offers for your eCommerce site, it is essential to know your customers’ buying tendencies. You can design your loyalty system and other promotional offers based on your customer’s tastes.

Free delivery, bulk discounts, loyalty point-based discounts, flash sales, giveaways, discounts on email subscriptions, referral codes, free-gift on purchases, and giveaways, are some of the effective promotional strategies often used by the eCommerce giants.

However, no two e-commerce sites are the same. Hence the value or system might differ from each other. At the same time, the pricing and business policy should be carefully set. You can do thorough market research before finding the pricing, which the customers will agree to without a second thought. Here are some promotion ideas widely used by eCommerce services –

Top 5 E-commerce Promotion Ideas

Here are some E-commerce promotional ideas to boost your sales –

  1. Big Sales before Festivals:

ECommerce businesses use seasonal promotions to persuade customers to buy from their websites. Customers, too, wait for it. I was thinking about buying a tablet for my mother, and I waited for the Amazon Great Indian Shopping Festival that took place between the 23rd to 27th of September.

I waited for two reasons. First, there will be a price drop, and second, gifting something during festivals has emotion and auspiciousness attached. I still remember the first saree I gave my mother on Durga Puja. I will never forget this puja in the same way because I gifted her an electronic device for the first time with my earnings.

Thus, These festive sales impact the customer’s psychology as most festivals are associated with some gift giving or buying new items. It is a universal truth, be it Santa or your parents, you love receiving gifts during festivals. You cannot deny this fact.

Hence, eCommerce experiences a surge in sales during festive seasons on multiple items, including clothes, shoes, jewelry, electronics, candies, dry fruits, etcetera. Gifts are an integral part of any celebration. Thus, it significantly increases eCommerce business sales.

  1. Discounts on UPI Payments:

Apart from the festive season offers, you can plan on providing the customers with low-scale offers or all-time discounts on items. Here, I can share my personal experience with Meesho.

If you have shopped from Meesho, you will see that Meesho gives 10-15 rupees or more off throughout the year on UPI or online purchases. The excitement of getting a cashback or a discount wins over the hesitation of spending money on shopping.

  1. Welcome discounts and Limited-time coupons:

It encourages people to make their first purchase to convert a potential customer into active customers. A welcome coupon can persuade them to try out the new e-commerce website they are visiting. For example, Amazon offers free shipping on the first couple of purchases. On the other hand, Myntra offers new users flat rupees 400 off with free shipping of their products.

Creating urgency is a marketing tool your e-commerce businesses can use to influence customers’ decisions. To prevent them from leaving the site without making any purchase, you can provide the customers with limited period offers and discounts. Limited period deals on bundle purchases or email marketing subscriptions also help to retain customers.

  1. Free Shipping Offer for a Specific Amount:

While shopping on BlinkIt, I often add an extra biscuit or a packet of chips to avoid spending more on the delivery. Similarly, several buyers are willing to buy random articles to save their delivery charge, and e-commerce sites use this psychology to increase sales.

ECommerce websites like Amazon encourage customers to purchase items of a specific value to avail of free delivery offers. The buyers put random things on carts to avoid giving the shipping charges. You can find the average spending of your customer on the app and then decide the order value for free shipping.

  1. Rewards based on coins:

Most online buyers are discount-motivated. Hence to increase the rate of returning customers. It is the perfect idea to add coin-based offers. You can add coins to every purchase, which can be used as a discount for your future purchase.

Currently, Flipkart is using this reward mechanism to retain its customers. Flipkart offers SuperCoins to its customers on every purchase they make. Consumers can redeem these coins and buy goods at a discounted rate in the future.

What Is The Right Time for Ecommerce Product Offer?

Besides formulating what offers to give your customer, it is essential to know when to give. It is pretty frequent for physical stores to come up with discounts during festivals like Diwali, Black Friday, or Christmas. You can consider your business’ geographical area and the buying trends of your customers while offering something to the buyers.

Since Christmas involves gifting rituals, eCommerce can use tempting discount rates to bring more customers. If it is the Indian market, Indians tend to shop before every big festival. The top e-commerce marketplaces like Amazon and Flipkart offer festive deals on their selected product ranges.

Growing up in Bengal, I have experienced people’s willingness to shop during the “Chaitra Sale.” The stores give discounts on purchases of some items before the Bengali New Year, which was primarily for increasing sales and stock clearance. Many customers wait eagerly to avail of that discount. There is a religious belief in buying new items on or before festivals, as it is auspicious. Most eCommerce businesses grab this opportunity to gain profitability.

The Off-Season Sale

However, off-season sales are also impactful in increasing sales. Many stores offer happy hour sales to clear up their stocks of off-season items. For example, winter garments are sold at a cheaper rate during monsoon. It drives in many customers who were otherwise unwilling to buy. Also, it helps in clearing all old stocks too.

Other Offers that You Can Provide 

You can also provide –

  • Quarterly and weekly deals: Many small-scale online businesses use quarterly and weekend discounts on some products. This price drop convinces some potential customers to buy the items.
  • Abandoned Cart Deals: It is frequent among customers to check the ultimate cost of the items. If they are unsure about it, leave their cart there. About 70% of buyers abandon their shopping carts, and you can use attractive cart discounts and triggered emails to retain your customers.
  • Loyalty Cards or Programs: Customer loyalty programs are a necessary tool eCommerce giants use to retain their customers. Design offers and discounts based on the loyalty points of a customer.

Attractive regular deals and special offers can lead a buyer to buy more items. For example, RedMi adds points for every purchase on their app.

  • Referrals: Referrals and coupon codes on purchases can also be used as impactful eCommerce promotional tools. It will interest a customer to share your business with their peers.

(Love with Food Allow You to Enjoy Free Snack and $10 with Three Simple Referral Steps)

  • Discounts on less-sold items: Businesses can identify the less-sold items and offer discounts to increase the sales of such things.

Meesho’s Vice President and General Manager for Business, Utrkrishta Kumar, commented on their Maha Indian Shopping League, which took place in October 2021. He  said, “Looking at September-end or October 1 kind of a (period) over the course of the five-day sale, we were more than 2x every day but if you compare it to a timeline which is non-festive, the numbers will be much higher.”

On the other hand, when in 2021, Amazon had a “record-breaking Black Friday,” the then CEO of Amazon, Dave Clark said, “Well, we’re right in the middle of what we call ‘Turkey 5,’ which is between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday, and we’re off to a great start. We had a record-breaking Black Friday and we’re seeing customers engaged.” So, you can see how essential promotions and discounts boost your sales figures.

Apart from using necessary promotional strategies, it is essential to gain the customers’ trust. Many customers feel reluctant to buy online because they feel such sites are not trustworthy enough, especially the older generations, who are comfortable buying from physical stores.

Thus, reviews and testimonials can help you earn the trust of your customers. You may ask for your buyer’s feedback and have an effective customer support system. Although building a positive brand image may take some time, this will come in handy in retaining customers. Now, you can formulate tempting offers to increase your customer base.

But if you still lack an eCommerce store but have plans regarding it, stop opening them and contact us to design a user-friendly store. Book a meeting with our ecommerce development experts to find out the strategy to increase conversions